Should I Wake My Baby to Feed? Dealing With Your Baby’s Sleepy Days and Hungry Tummy

Should I wake my baby to feed?  

The answer depends on another question – how old is your baby? Are they old enough to understand their hunger cues?  

It may seem almost like a crime to wake up your little one for feeding since he spends much time crying. So, you may give him the time to sleep and have a moment of peace.  

But not always. If your little one is just a week old, he isn’t ready yet to understand his hunger cues. You don’t want your little one to sleep through hunger and slow their weight-gaining process.  

You must know something about your little one’s sleepy cues and techniques for waking him up.  

Reasons to Wake Your Baby Up to Feed

The body of a newborn is developing and changing fast. The child hits a growth spurt during the 3 to 4th week after childbirth. Even the mother needs to build a breastfeeding habit to help support her body in producing milk.  

These are the primary reasons why frequent breastfeeding becomes important.  

But, after birth, the child’s body changes constantly. These changes and physical development require constant energy. For a newborn, breast milk is the only source of energy.  

So, if you were wondering if you should wake up your baby for breastfeeding, the answer is yes. Here are a few reasons why you should wake them up for breastfeeding – 

Breastmilk is Easily Digestible  

Breast milk gets digested easily. Your baby and their tummy can take on the little milk they drank a few hours ago. Also, their tiny tummy becomes quite efficient at digesting breast milk during their 2nd week after birth.  

This means that they need to be nursed every 2 to 3 hours. If you are feeding your baby with formula, you must feed them after every 3 to 4 hours. The formula takes a little longer to digest compared to breast milk.  

Sleeping Through Hunger Doesn’t Help 

Your baby is still developing their responses and cues. This also includes the sleeping cues or the hunger cues. Usually, when they are hungry, your baby will cry or smack their lips.  

Crying is also a common expression of hunger for newborns. But the first few weeks after birth, your baby might skip the hunger cues – especially when asleep.  

So, ensure your little one doesn’t sleep through their hunger cues. Wake him up to feed and ensure that he’s properly fed. Not only does it keep their tummy happy, but it also helps them sleep well after feeding.  

Regaining Weight  

Childbirth puts some strain on the body of the newborn as well. Your baby might typically lose 5% to 10% of their body weight in the first weeks of birth.  

You must dedicate the following weeks to helping them regain weight. Breastfeeding frequently helps ensure that your baby is gaining that weight back.  

If you aren’t feeding your baby enough, it can lead to different physical complications like jaundice. Also, not gaining enough weight will make them weak. Low blood sugar in newborns also happens due to a lack of breastfeeding after birth.  

Helping You Boost Milk Supply 

Frequent breastfeeding is necessary to help your child develop the practice of feeding. Also, breastfeeding works as a supply and demand process. Unless the baby tries to swallow and suck, the mother’s body won’t produce breast milk. 

Your Baby’s Growth Spurt 

Newborns experience a growth spurt around 3 to 6 weeks after birth. It also comes back at three months and six months of age. These are the periods when children need to be fed more.  

Feeding must be more frequent and for a longer period. In fact, you might have to wake them up to feed them.  

Those are some reasons why you must breastfeed your newborn. In fact, you must wake them up to feed them and support their growth. In the first month after birth, they must breastfeed 8 to 12 times daily. When they are 1 to 2 months old, the feeding frequency should be around 7 to 9 times daily. 

How to Wake Up Your Baby for Feeding?

Newborns typically have a minimum wake time. While it’s best to use their wake windows for feeding, you must wake them up to ensure they are fed.  Here are some techniques for waking up your newborn for nursing – 

Feed Them When They’re in Active Sleep Mode 

Feed them when they are in REM sleep. But trying this would prove futile if your baby is asleep. REM sleep patterns include different behaviors you can trace in your baby. In this state, your little one moves their limbs, flutters their eyelids, or changes their facial expression.  

Unswaddling Works   

Unswaddling can help your baby wake up and get ready to nurse. But it doesn’t always work. A good backup plan would be undressing them after unswaddling.  

Change Your Baby’s Diapers

Your baby understands his mother’s ways of interacting with him. They love your lullabies, and when you touch their feed gently or hum a sweet song as you stroke their hands. Changing their diapers can also wake your baby up. You can start to nurse them when they show any signs of waking up.  

Hold Him Upright 

Waking up your baby shouldn’t be hard. Gently hold him up and slowly talk to him to wake him up! 

Don’t Dim the Lights 

Dimming the lights will only put your baby to sleep again. When the light is dim, your baby gets the sleepy cue and gets ready for sleep. Increasing the intensity of the light would do the opposite. When the room is too bright, the baby will wake up. If you are holding him upright simultaneously, it will be easier to wake him up.  

Singing to Them Works 

When the baby opens their eyes, try singing to them. It will help you catch their attention and help them stay awake.  

Massage His Hands 

Touch works well if you want to wake your baby up.  Mother’s touch helps put your baby to sleep or wake him up. When he is sleeping, gently touch his back, arms, shoulders, and feet to wake him up.  

Wake Him Up, But Don’t Hurt His Sleep

Should I wake my baby to feed? Yes., you should. But that should never hurt the sleep your baby needs in a day. Babies are unique, and all have unique and different ways of sleeping.  

Some of them sleep for a long time, while some will sleep in small bursts of naps. Usually, your baby would need at least 9 to 10 hours of sleep a day when they are three months old.  

On average, they might require sleep hours of 14.5 hours a day. However, if you have a newborn at home, their sleeping pattern will be difficult to understand. They were just born, and it will take them a few months to develop their sleeping patterns. They still don’t understand day and night, light and darkness. So, they will fall asleep anytime if they are properly fed. 

A 5-month-old baby will have a different sleeping pattern compared to a 15-month-old. It depends on their age, weight, health condition, and hunger. If your baby is properly fed and has the energy reserved for growth, they will sleep throughout the day. This might seem a little difficult for parents to cope with.  

Newborn parents must wake their babies to feed them frequently. You may have to prepare for a few sleepless nights during the first few weeks of the journey. Remember to wake your baby up for feeding. But also makes sure that their sleep doesn’t get hurt.